Sproles stands tall in Chargers' win

ST. LOUIS -- If Darren Sproles needs to excel as a punt returner
to remain employed by the Chargers, he greatly increased his
chances in Saturday's preseason contest against St. Louis.

The diminutive Sproles returned a punt 81 yards for a touchdown
in the final minute of the first half, a play that energized the
Chargers and helped them notch a 30-13 victory over the Rams before
58,288 at the Edward Jones Dome.

Sproles broke two tackles to get into the clear and cruised the
final 45 yards to give the Chargers a 14-0 lead with 37 seconds
left in the half.

"It felt real good to finally get me one," Sproles said of his
touchdown return. "I seen their whole team was all on the right
side and I seen the lane to cut back. I saw that lane and it was
wide open."

The Chargers evened their exhibition season mark to 1-1, partly
because of the efforts of Sproles.

The 5-foot-6, 181-pound Sproles also made a nice offensive
contribution during a third-quarter touchdown drive. On third-and-8
from the Rams' 32-yard line, Sproles caught a pass in the right
flank near the line of scrimmage and motored upfield for 8 yards
and a first down. Four plays later, Billy Volek hit rookie tight
end Scott Chandler for an 8-yard scoring pass to give the Chargers
a 20-6 lead with 13:30 remaining.

"He catches the ball on that third down and it looks like it's
no gain," said Chargers coach Norv Turner, "and bang, he makes one
guy miss. He has that ability."

Sproles missed last season after suffering a broken left ankle
in an exhibition game against Green Bay. He has regained his
swiftness after an arduous rehabilitation effort and has been
impressive this preseason. In the opener against Seattle, Sproles
had 63 yards rushing and caught four passes for 36 yards.

He's aware of the speculation regarding his future, but refuses
to get caught up in the debate.

"I'm going to go out and play my game," Sproles said. "That's
all I can do. I can't worry about that."

The Chargers have fewer things to worry about after beating the
Rams (1-1). The defense held St. Louis' high-powered first-team
offense scoreless despite prolonging the Rams' opening drive with
untimely penalties. Also, Turner feels the team's overall play was
better than last week's showing against Seattle.

"The No. 1 thing I was looking for, obviously, was that
improvement I think you make from Game 1 to Game 2, and I believe
we did that," Turner said. "I thought we did an awful lot of good
things.

"Obviously, in the first half, I thought we sustained the first
drive, which was very good. We created a turnover, which was very
good.

"Obviously disappointed on both sides that we had penalties we
have to correct -- whether it be the false starts or the penalties
on third downs that allowed them to continue drives. That will be a
big area of emphasis this week."

On St. Louis' opening drive, the Chargers helped the Rams remain
on the field for the first 7:05 of the contest before forcing a
turnover. Twice, the Rams got a reprieve after failing to convert a
third-down play -- once when Shawne Merriman was called offsides;
the other when cornerback Drayton Florence drew a defensive holding
penalty.

But the Rams came up empty on the 13-play drive when linebacker
Shaun Phillips forced fullback Madison Hedgecock to fumble after
catching a short pass.

Merriman recovered the ball and advanced it 10 yards to the
Chargers' 29.

The Chargers' first-team offense then crisply moved its way
downfield on a 10-play, 71-yard scoring drive.

The touchdown came when Philip Rivers (9-of-13 for 82 yards)
tossed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Vincent Jackson.

Michael Turner rushed for 38 of his team-high 48 yards on the
drive, including an impressive 17-yard dash in which he ran over
Rams linebacker Will Witherspoon.

Later, Rivers scrambled away from the pressure of the Rams'
James Hall and found Antonio Gates for 28 yards to the St. Louis 4.
Two plays later, Jackson caught the touchdown pass at the back of
the end zone.

St. Louis' second drive also ended in a turnover. The Rams moved
from their own 21 to the Chargers' 25 and Marc Bulger (8-of-12, 79
yards) then attempted to hit Torry Holt, who created distance from
Florence. But strong safety Clinton Hart read the play perfectly
and intercepted the pass in the end zone.

"I was just eyeing the quarterback and he led me to the ball,"
Hart said. "I was just basically playing the defense and being in
the right spot. Not doing too much, just doing exactly what you're
supposed to."

The Chargers led 14-3 at halftime and saw St. Louis pull within
20-13 on Gus Frerotte's 7-yard touchdown pass to Marques Hagans,
but got no closer. They pulled away when Germaine Race rushed 13
yards for a score with 5:05 left and Nate Kaeding kicked a 22-yard
field goal with 41 seconds left.